Upwind Security has made significant strides in its four-year journey, achieving a valuation of $1.5 billion while serving notable clients such as Siemens, Peloton, Roku, Wix, Nextdoor, and Nubank. However, co-founder and CEO Amiram Shachar reflects on the uncertainty that marked their path to success.
"Three years ago, we often questioned our direction, and 80% of the time, it felt like we were off course," Shachar shared in a recent interview with TechCrunch, following their successful $250 million Series B funding round.
Initially, the team grappled with doubts about the market's need for their innovative solution and the challenges of integrating it into existing systems. "Creating a new approach was challenging; users are accustomed to installing specific agents on machines, which they typically resist," he noted.
Upwind's unique strategy revolves around what they term "runtime" security, which emphasizes real-time alerts and remediation focused on active service threats and vulnerabilities. Shachar describes it as an "inside-out" perspective on cloud security, utilizing internal signals like network requests and API traffic to help security teams prioritize urgent risks.
Despite their non-traditional backgrounds in security--having previously founded and sold a cloud compute brokerage, Spot.io, for approximately $450 million in 2020--the team recognized the complexities of cloud security firsthand. "After joining NetApp post-acquisition, I realized how challenging cloud security could be," Shachar explained. "The security teams would identify issues without the necessary context, leading to misidentified risks."
With a deeper understanding of cloud environments, the team believed that internal signals provided a clearer picture for security teams. However, they faced hurdles in selling their innovative approach, as many security teams lacked the authority to deploy new software and preferred conventional tools.
"Initially, it was uncertain, and customers were cautious," Shachar admitted. Yet, he emphasized, "We recognized that the inside-out approach is not just an advanced option; it is essential for addressing the next generation of cloud security challenges."
As the market for security solutions became increasingly crowded, Upwind understood the necessity of creating a comprehensive, integrated platform to attract customers who were already overwhelmed by existing tools. "From the start, we knew that Upwind had to develop a broad platform to engage customers effectively," Shachar stated.
Ultimately, their strategy resonated with large organizations heavily invested in cloud technology. Following their $100 million Series A funding in 2024, Upwind has experienced remarkable growth, achieving a 900% increase in year-over-year revenue and doubling its customer base. The company has also expanded its reach beyond the U.S., U.K., and Israel to emerging markets such as Australia, India, Singapore, and Japan.
The recent $250 million Series B funding round was spearheaded by Bessemer Venture Partners, with contributions from Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital. This new capital will be directed towards product development and market strategies, with plans to enhance AI security features within their core cloud security platform and improve support for developers to prevent misconfigurations before production.